Electric Cars Could Wreak Havoc on Oil Markets Within a Decade

February 24 — There are more than one billion cars on the road worldwide today, and only one tenth of one percent of them have a plug. OPEC contends that even in the year 2040, EVs will make up just one percent. But don’t be so sure. By 2020, some electric cars and SUVs will be faster, safer, cheaper, and more convenient than their gasoline counterparts. What if people just stop buying oil? In the first episode of our animated series, Sooner Than You Think, Bloomberg’s Tom Randall does the math on when oil markets might be headed for the big crash.

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Oil drops. Coal rises. Electricity doesn’t just come from nowhere. And there has been plenty of research done to show how Electric vehicles net carbon footprint is even greater than gasoline powered cars. It is no where near as straight forward as this video portrays. Bloomberg, you fail.

Oil has more than just that working against it. Hybrids, less driving, and more efficient engines all work against demand. I leased a Leaf in 2013 and drive it over 30,000 miles. I now have no car and use a bicycle and public transportation because I moved to a European city. Airplanes are becoming more efficient, trucks are becoming more efficient, the militaries of the world are becoming more efficient, and alternatives are becoming more common.

Also, I HATE when someone says "electric engine." It is a motor, not an engine.

China is investing heavily in evs. Tesla is selling there now and there is massive demand for them. Reasons are that the government gives incentives and you can access areas where gas cars are not allowed. I believe India has a need for them as well. Within the next few years, demand is going to skyrocket as incentives are introduced and people start to become educated on the massive number of advantages that come with owning an ev.

This video does not consider shared ownership and increased utilization of cars. Rather than 4% utilization rate by single owner/single user; owners will be able to share their autonomous cars with others, while passengers won’t need to purchase their own vehicle. Any time you need to get somewhere, you’ll just smart phone it. If you are a car owner, your car will become a cash flow asset, rather than a liability. The car will pay for itself. There will be 90% fewer cars on the road, with the increased utilization. This disruption will magnify the EV adaption predictions of this video several times in the coming years. Governments and oil companies won’t be able to stop it.

Right, but where this guy is from they have some of the best clean energy. If we keep pushing for renewable energy, recycling batteries/parts then the calculations go way down. Factor the green energy initiatives being implemented across Europe over a 10 year lifespan. Besides that even 5 tonnes over a lifetime + less city pollution and more innovation stack up to a net positive for society.

My city is still trying to recover from the 2014 crash. The nation isn’t heavily impacted, but my city reached nearly 30-40% unemployment from what I’ve heard. Massively overqualified engineers are looking for any job, and I have just left school.The nation did take a hit though. If the predictions in this video comes true, might Norway be in serious trouble, since the majority of the nation’s income is oil.

You make some good points about how this could be a tipping point for free market prices. Not mentioned is the fact that home heating (and air conditioning) are bigger sources of energy consumption than are cars. Many of those plants are still powered by coal, but the transition to natural gas is inevitable. Fuel prices are largely controlled by OPEC suppliers who can turn the tap down to dampen free market changes, rogue outliers notwithstanding. Of course in an ideal world hydroelectric power (or even nuclear) would be a cleaner source of energy.

it won’t happen because all those electric cars would have to be build by tesla tesla sales electric cars because they are very good cars even if they ware gas cars. the rest of the car companies can’t get a clue even after tesla made it’s patents free and showed that it can sell cars faster that it can make them. the way things are going it looks like tesla will be the only company that makes saleable electric cars.

cars only make a small portion of oil usage, i think its the top 4 big container ships use the same amount of oil that all cars on the planet do, rockets, planes and all sorts of other engines need to be changed, not just cars, its a big market, but not the biggest market. big changes will still need to be made, but cars are a first

All terrorism will disappear in a night if it happens , goat f;&Akers will go lalala in there desert land once for all…. 🙂 . USA don’t need to bomb to end terrorism , it just need provide r&d tech to developing nations like China ,India to mass produce electric cars.

What people forgot is governments are powered by corporates mostly oil companies and bankers and both will not let the oil economy slip away. If electric cars increase then your electricity bill will increase. one way or other they get back at you.

Electric cars still need energy – electrical energy and more electric cars will require more electricity generating capacity and since not all countries have sufficient hydropower, wind and solar electricity generating capacity or resources, won’t they still have to rely on oil and coal energy sources?

Renault, Nissan, BMW, VW etc all have or soon will have an EV capable of doing +200 miles on a charge. The problem now isn’t the car, its the infrastructure! We need more fast charging points ie 80% in less than 30mns!

Come on, where is the electricity for electric cars will come from? Thermal heat power stations are dominating in electricity supply, so electricity for electric cars will probably come from burning oil or gas, which is not only same as regular cars, but will increase the price per mile for driving electric cars, because you have electric station as a middle man. So at the end – is it worth it?

tesla sales electric cars because they are very good cars even if they ware gas cars. the rest of the car companies can’t get a clue even after tesla made it’s patents free and showed that it can sell cars faster that it can make them. the way things are going it looks like tesla will be the only company that makes saleable electric cars.